|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
| President Clinton: Taking Action To Help |
| California With High Electricity Prices |
| August 23, 2000 |
| |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
President Clinton today directed Federal agencies to provide assistance to
low income households and small businesses in Southern California. The
wholesale price of electricity has risen steeply in parts of the country
this summer, hitting California?s low-income households and small
businesses particularly hard. California?s hot weather, its limited
generation and transmission capacity, and growing demand have combined to
significantly increase the price of electricity. Higher prices have been
passed on to retail consumers, including low-income households and small
businesses, in certain parts of California where the retail price of
electricity is unregulated because of requirements established by the
state?s electricity restructuring legislation. Earlier this week, the
California Public Utilities Commission took steps to ease the burden on
these consumers by adopting a plan to stabilize their electricity bills.
PRESIDENT CLINTON TODAY ANNOUNCED SEVERAL STEPS TO HELP CALIFORNIA RESPOND
TO HIGH ELECTRICITY PRICES:
? Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson today requested that the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission expedite its national investigation of the
operation of bulk power markets so that state and Federal regulators and
policymakers can have the information they need to protect consumers in a
timely fashion.
? President Clinton today directed the Department of Health and Human
Services to release $2.6 million in Low Income Home Energy Assistance
Program (LIHEAP) emergency funds for low-income households in Southern
California. This release doubles the funds that the affected region in
Southern California currently receives under the LIHEAP program, helping
low-income Californians who have faced substantially higher electricity
rates this summer.
? President Clinton also directed the Small Business Administration to
urge its lending partners in Southern California to use SBA credit
programs, particularly the 7(a) program, and technical assistance to help
small businesses in San Diego and Orange Counties hurt by high electricity
prices. SBA?s existing range of loan programs is flexible enough to help
businesses whose costs have increased because of high electricity bills.
PRESIDENT CLINTON ONCE AGAIN CALLED ON CONGRESS TO PASS COMPREHENSIVE
ELECTRICITY RESTRUCTURING LEGISLATION: The President urged Congress to work
with the Department of Energy and other Federal agencies to enact
comprehensive electricity restructuring legislation, which can promote
greater investment in generation and transmission facilities and enhance
regional planning, reliability and the efficiency of the interstate
transmission grid, each of which is needed to ensure the availability of
affordable and environmentally responsible electricity to power America
into the 21st century.
TODAY?S ACTION BUILDS ON EFFORTS ANNOUNCED BY THE PRESIDENT EARLIER THIS
MONTH TO HELP CALIFORNIA MEET ITS ELECTRICITY NEEDS THIS SUMMER. Earlier
this month, in order to help reduce the risk of power outages as a result
of electricity shortages in California, the President directed that
managers of all Federal buildings in California take steps to reduce
consumption of power to the maximum extent practicable consistent with the
health and welfare of employees, and that Federal agencies coordinate with
other state and local government agencies to minimize the use of
electricity in all government buildings in California. President Clinton
also directed earlier this month that all federal agencies take steps to
help California maximize available electricity. The Federal government is
one of the largest electricity consumers in California representing
approximately 2% of all electricity use.
# # #
President and First Lady | Vice President and Mrs. Gore
Record of Progress | The Briefing Room
Gateway to Government | Contacting the White House | White House for Kids
White House History | White House Tours | Help
Privacy Statement